The Rebuild Your Life Project, an empowerment outreach presented by MySavvySisters.Com is a continuous effort to support women during their most extreme life transitions.
To kick off this effort on April 11, 2011, Te-Erika Patterson, the publisher of MySavvySisters.Com gave away everything that she owned and became homeless on purpose to teach women how to overcome their fear of failure and survive emotionally and physically following an extreme loss. She aimed to showcase specific mental strategies women need to overcome failure as well as survival skills needed to make it through a life on the streets so that women would never be held bondage by fear of losing again and will be free to face life’s challenges head on.
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MySavvySisters.Com’s publisher, Te-Erika Patterson, an inspirational journalist and author spent 4 months as a homeless individual in Hollywood, Florida. During her time as a homeless individual she accomplished the following goals:
1) Organized a job fair for homeless women and women in distress.
2) Raised money for a $650 rental assistance grant for women.
3) Reported on the benefits and pitfalls of the homeless lifestyle.
4) Secured a job as a waitress at Denny’s that enabled her to move up out of homelessness.
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The Rebuild Your Life Project In The News
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The Rebuild Your Life Project was documented daily in writing on MySavvySisters.Com and in a series of 93 videos on our youtube channel, Embrace Your Fantasy. Each video was recorded on a low budget pocket digital camera, edited and hosted by Te-Erika Patterson. You may view the entire documentary at this link.
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A few of the mental strategies for success that Te-Erika taught while homeless:
2. You’re Supposed To Be Happy
5. Eliminate Irrational Beliefs
6. Getting Out Of An Abusive Relationship
9. Make Peace With Where You Are
10. Redefining Loss
12. Releasing Shame
13. 7 Obstacles Women Face While Trying To Rebuild Their Lives
14. How To Find A Place To Live
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The Rebuild Your Life Project didn’t end when Te-Erika moved up out of homelessness. In November, 2011, Te-Erika continued her efforts to empower women by partnering with Denny’s Restaurants to offer employment to women in distress.
On December 20, 2011, 14 South Florida Denny’s Restaurants Will Offer Employment To Those In Need In Support Of The Rebuild Your Life Project
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Published Reports Inspired By The Rebuild Your Life Project
You can read Homeless On Purpose, Te-Erika’s investigative report based on The Rebuild Your Life Project originally published in the Westside Gazette.
Homeless On Purpose – Part 1-What Leads To Homelessness
Homeless On Purpose- Part 2 – The Benefits of Homelessness
Homeless On Purpose- Part 3 – The Pitfalls of Homelessness
Homeless On Purpose- Part 4 – The Homeless Mentality
Homeless On Purpose- Part 5 –Nothing Is Permanent
EBook- The 1% Mentality- The Difference Between The Haves & The Have Nots
12 Key Characteristics that make all the difference between the 1% of America’s wealthy and those who are not. Available For Purchase on Kindle.
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Now in Progress
The Rebuild Your Life Project- Los Angeles
A real-time web series that teaches you how to restart your life in a new city. Te-Erika Patterson, the publisher of MySavvySisters.Com allowed her readers to choose a city for her to move to in order to teach the steps necessary to rebuild your life in a new city by allowing them to watch her do it.
On June 27th, 2012, Te-Erika Patterson moved to Los Angeles with less than $200, no friends or family in the city and never having even visited the city before.
She has been (barely) surviving and documenting her journey while teaching lessons about overcoming obstacles relating to a relocation and trying to reach her goal of offering a $4,000 grant to a woman in Los Angeles. You CAN Rebuild Your Life in a new city. If she can do it, you can too. Be encouraged!
Moving To LA TODAY is Te-Erika’s latest blog that teaches how to move to Los Angeles and what life will be like once you get there.
Interesting Highlights From Los Angeles
How To Decide When It’s Time To Move On
Having Fear About Moving To A New City?
How To Stay Positive While You Plan
6 Women Who Relocated And Changed Their Lives
Signing Up With Central Casting
What To Do When You Need A Hug
How To Define Yourself When You Meet People
Introducing The Rebuild Your Life Project $4,000 Grant
My First Background Acting Gig
My Introduction to the BDSM Community in Los Angeles
How To Take Care Of a Sexual Itch
To view the rest of the living documentary visit The Rebuild Your Life Project- Los Angeles Youtube Playlist
Good morning/afternoon/evening Te-Erika. I recently read your piece in The Atlantic about Ph.D. programs and all the difficulties students face in them, and I wanted to say that it resonated deeply with my experience in the master’s program I just completed. I am loosely considering writing about my own experiences, and I was hoping you might be able to tell where and how you even began researching for your piece in The Atlantic. Thanks for your time, and have a great day!
I am going insane with my current life. I really need a change and I’m saving money to move to LA but everytime i do research i start crying thinking it will be impossible for me to survive. I am glad to find people like you so I still have hope. I really need a new life and I am sure that Los Angeles will be a good place for me at least to start.
Hey Te-Erika Im a single mom of three, age 24, bartender for a little cash now, my hobby is modeling im ok at it, and i live using goverment assistance. I grew up in a small town, my family has never changed or grown. I have one grandma and a mother whom help with the kids, yes i do have a small support system. Yet i keep finding myself in this same spot. With the eagerness ro leave everything ive known behind except my children and leave. I have no car i cant really save for one atm but i have plan to try that first. Ive been through alot so i kmow my willpower is strong. Ive been battling deep depression and most of me feels like its because of seeing the outcome of the path im on here in my hometown. Im desperate to make a change my friend tells me from alabama to just go take the kids to a shelter and start over we have talked many times over the last couple of yesrs but i cant seem to ever do it and shes tired odf talking sbout it as she knows ill never put my big girl panties on and force the change
Im alone. My family does not talk they are different in ways that hurt me we are not close i feel as if i have no one to talk to. Or no 9ne understands me.. i came accross your Huff post and after all the searching ive done kver the years for encouragement to go and take the life we deserve escape the depression hanging over my entire family and find joy this is the first post to give hope rather than scare me away. Hopefully if you have time we can talk sometime i could tell you more of my story.. thank you dearly for taking the time to read this!
Thank you for what youve done for all of us
I have been seriously considering moving to Florida with my 7 year old son. It would be just him and I down there with no family or support otherwise. But I truly believe that our quality of lives would be significantly improved by relocating there.
I have very limited resources & despite all of my research and efforts, it seems impossible to make the move.
Thank you for all of your valuable information. Please advise if you know of any programs or resources available in your former state that I could take advantage of.